Trinidad and Tobago general election, 2015
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General elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago on 7 September 2015.[1] The date of the general elections was announced by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on 13 June 2015.[2] The result was a victory for the opposition People's National Movement, which received 52% of the vote and won 23 of the 41 seats in the House of Representatives.[3]
Background
The 2010 general elections were won by the People's Partnership (PP) coalition, an alliance of the United National Congress (UNC), the National Joint Action Committee (NJAC), the Congress of the People (COP) and the Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP). The PP took 29 of the 41 seats, with the People's National Movement (PNM) winning the other 12. Prior to the 2015 general elections, two by-elections were held in St Joseph and Chaguanas West, which saw the seats held by the PP won by the PNM and Independent Liberal Party (ILP) respectively.[4]
Electoral system
The 41 elected members of the House of Representatives were elected in single-member constituencies using first-past-the-post.[5] A total of 2,199 polling stations were used.[6]
Campaign
A total of 127 candidates contested the election for 17 different political parties, with another five running as independents. The PNM was the only party to contest all 41 seats, and only two other parties contested more than half the seats; the United National Congress ran in 28 and the ILP in 26.
The COP ran in eight seats, the Laventille Outreach for Vertical Enrichment, the NJAC, New National Vision and Trinidad Humanity Campaign all contested three seats, whilst Tobago Forwards, the TOP and the Platform of Truth ran in two. The other parties only nominated a single candidate, including the Democratic Development Party, the Independent Democratic Party, the National Coalition for Transportation, the New Voice, the Youth Empowerment Party and the Youth, National Organisations, Farmers Unification, Policy Reformation.[6]
The UNC, NJAC, COP and TOP again ran under the PP banner, and did not run candidates against each other.[7]
Opposition leader Keith Rowley described the election campaign as one of the most "gruelling" in the country's history, but highlighted that the campaign had been conducted in high spirits and without violence or unrest.[8]
Results
Preliminary results on election night indicated that the PNM had won a majority government with 22 of 41 seats, but with a majority of the popular vote flowing to the ruling People's Partnership coalition.[9] On the final count however the PNM clearly secured an absolute majority of votes cast and obtained an extra seat from the PP, winning 23 of the 41 seats. The four parties in the PP alliance received a combined 46.6% of the vote, winning the remaining eighteen seats.[3] Outgoing Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar denied allegations that her coalition had run an ineffective campaign.[9] Her incoming successor, PNM leader Keith Rowely, described the mandate his party had won as an "awesome responsibility" and pledged "to make every effort to rekindle the feeling of nationalism in Trinidad and Tobago".[8]
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People's National Movement | 378,447 | 51.68 | 23 | +11 |
| United National Congress (PP) | 290,066 | 39.61 | 17 | −4 |
| Congress of the People (PP) | 43,991 | 6.01 | 1 | −5 |
| National Joint Action Committee (PP) | 5,790 | 0.79 | 0 | 0 |
| Independent Liberal Party | 5,123 | 0.70 | 0 | New |
| Tobago Forwards | 2,162 | 0.30 | 0 | New |
| Tobago Organisation of the People (PP) | 1,750 | 0.24 | 0 | −2 |
| New National Vision | 883 | 0.12 | 0 | 0 |
| Platform of Truth | 469 | 0.06 | 0 | New |
| Laventille Outreach for Vertical Enrichment | 334 | 0.05 | 0 | New |
| National Coalition for Transportation | 331 | 0.05 | 0 | New |
| Democratic Development Party | 153 | 0.02 | 0 | New |
| Trinidad Humanity Campaign | 138 | 0.02 | 0 | New |
| Independent Democratic Party | 108 | 0.01 | 0 | New |
| The New Voice | 101 | 0.01 | 0 | New |
| Youth, National Organisations, Farmers Unification, Policy Reformation | 74 | 0.01 | 0 | New |
| Youth Empowerment Party | 34 | 0.00 | 0 | New |
| Independents | 2,376 | 0.32 | 0 | 0 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 2,452 | – | – | – |
| Total | 734,792 | 100 | 41 | 0 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,099,279 | 66.84 | – | – |
| Source: Trinidad Express EBC | ||||
By constituency
Winning candidates are in bold font.[10][11]
| Constituency | PP | PNM | ILP | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arima | Rodger Samuel (COP) | Anthony Garcia | Donna Jennings | |
| Arouca/Maloney | Wendell Eversley(COP) | Camille Robinson Regis | ||
| Barataria/San Juan | Fuad Khan (UNC) | Hafeez Ali | Jonathan Thomas (YEP) | |
| Caroni Central | Dr Bhoe Tewarie (UNC) | Avinash Singh | Michelle Johnson | |
| Caroni East | Tim Gopeesingh (UNC) | Sara Budhu | Abuzar Mohammed | |
| Chaguanas East | Fazal Karim (UNC) | Parbatee Helen Maharaj | Jack Warner | |
| Chaguanas West | Ganga Singh (UNC) | Abbgail Nandalal | Amarath Jagassar | |
| Couva North | Ramona Ramdial (UNC) | Richard Ragoonannan | Sunil Ramjitsingh | |
| Couva South | Rudy Indarsingh (UNC) | Alif Mohammed | Kelly Dingoor | |
| Cumuto/Manzanilla | Christene Newallo Hosein (UNC) | Bharath Barry Lochan | Dr Lena Brereton | Krish Poonwasee (Independent) |
| D'Abadie/O’Meara | Patricia Metivier (COP) | Ancil Antoine | Dominic Romain | |
| Diego Martin Central | Embau Moheni(NJAC) | Darryl Smith | Kathy Ann Lamont | |
| Diego Martin North/East | Garvin Nicholas (UNC) | Colm Imbert | Saaleha Abu Bakr (NNV) | |
| Diego Martin West | Avonelle Hector (COP) | Dr Keith Rowley | Taja Carringhton | Faud Abu Bakr (NNV) Phillip Alexander (Independent) Zafir David (THC) |
| Fyzabad | Dr Lakram Bodoe (UNC) | Marsha Bailey | Fabian Anthony Assie | |
| La Brea | Ramesh Ramnannan (UNC) | Nicole Olivirrie | Kefing Jason Chance | |
| La Horquetta/Talparo | Jairam Seemungal (UNC) | Maxie Cuffie | ||
| Laventille East/Morvant | Kathy Ann Francis (NJAC) | Adrian Leonce | Fitzdavid Samuel | Niya Pierre (LOVE) |
| Laventille West | Malcolm Kernahan (NJAC) | Fitzgerald Hinds | Trent Holdip | |
| Lopinot/Bon Air West | Lincoln Douglas (COP) | Cherrie Ann Chritchlow Cockburn | Nigel Reyes | |
| Mayaro | Rushton Paray (UNC) | Clerance Rambharat | Andrew Brooks | |
| Moruga/Tableland | Clifton De Coteau (UNC) | Dr Lovell Francis | Andre Clifford | |
| Naparima | Rodney Charles (UNC) | Dons Waithe | Riza hosein | |
| Oropouche East | Roodal Moonilal (UNC) | Terry Jadoonannan | ||
| Oropouche West | Vidia Goopiesingh (UNC) | Clifford Rambharose | ||
| Point Fortin | Ravi ratiram (UNC) | Edmund Dillion | ||
| Pointe-à-Pierre | Dr David Lee (UNC) | Neil Mohammed | Patrina Mark Bascombe | |
| Port of Spain North/St Ann's West | Eli Zakour (UNC) | Stuart Young | ||
| Port of Spain South | Cleveland Garcia (COP) | Marlene McDonald | ||
| Princes Town | Barry Padarath (UNC) | Nikoleiskai Ali | ||
| San Fernando East | Ashaki Scott (COP) | Randall Mitchell | Ricardo Lee Sing | |
| San Fernando West | Raziah Ahmed (UNC) | Faris Al Rawi | Joseph Mendes | |
| Siparia | Kamla Persad-Bissessar (UNC) | Vidya Deokiesingh | ||
| St Ann's East | Don Sylverter (UNC) | Dr Nyan Gadsby Dolly | Geewan Ramdeen | |
| St Augustine | Prakash Ramadhar (COP) | Alisha Romano | ||
| St Joseph | Vasant Bharath (UNC) | Terrence Deyalsingh | Errol Fabien (Independent) | |
| Tabaquite | Suruj Rambachan (UNC) | Kevin Chan | ||
| Tobago East | Joseph Fredrick (TOP) | Ayanna Webster Roy | Juliana Henry-King (TPT) Peter Caruth (TF) |
|
| Tobago West | Natasha Ann Second (TOP) | Shamfa Cudjoe | Paul Peters | Hochoy Charles (TPT) Christlyn Moore (TF) |
| Toco/Sangre Grande | Brent Sancho (UNC) | Glenda Jennings Smith | Dayne Francois | |
| Tunapuna | Wayne Munroe (UNC) | Esmonde Forde | Marcus Ramkissoon (THC) |
References
- ↑ September 7: Election Day in Trinidad and Tobago Caricom Today, 12 June 2015
- ↑ Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Announces Election Date TeleSur, 13 June 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Results of the Parliamentary Election Held on Monday 7th September 2015 EBCTT
- ↑ PNM wins 2015 General Election Trinidad Express
- ↑ Electoral system IPU
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Candidates Nominated Electorate Polling Station 2015 EBCTT
- ↑ COP loses three seats Trinidad Express, 15 August 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ List of Election Agents EBCTT
- ↑ T&T starts new era under PNM Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, 8 September 2015
